On April 19th, 2024 it was reported WWE had released several Superstars from their contracts.
These are the first round of talent cuts since September 21st, 2023 when they released over 100 office employees and several wrestlers from the main roster and NXT. Big names like Dolph Ziggler, Lacey Evans, Matt Riddle, Mustafa Ali, and Elias were all let go.
Let’s take a look at the wrestlers from WWE in 2024…
Becky Lynch
On June 1st, Becky Lynch became a free agent and departed WWE. Lynch finished up her last storyline with the company on the May 27th edition of Raw when she was unable to regain the Women’s World Championship from Liv Morgan in a Steel Cage match.
Shortly after the match, Lynch posted a further update that featured a photo of her walking out of the arena.
On her own social media, Lynch provided an update of her own accompanied by a simple 3-word update:
To be continued.
Ahead of her contract expiring, it was reported that Becky Lynch is expected to take an “extended leave” from WWE. According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, the star was looking to take a long period of time off the road.
Bobby Lashley
The former WWE Champion surprisingly left the company on August 16, 2024, when his contract expired. Lashley returned to the company in 2018 after ending his initial run in 2008 before going on to have a dominant run in TNA while also appearing for various independent promotions and competing in MMA.
During his second run, Lashley won the WWE Championship twice and was the top star in The Hurt Business Faction. While Bobby Lashley was a part of WrestleMania 40, the former World Champion was notably absent from the show the year prior, and Lashley previously expressed his frustrations about being left off the card.
Lashley’s final appearance for WWE was the April 12th, 2024 edition of Friday Night SmackDown followed by 5 appearances on dark matches and house shows,
Following his departure he joined his fellow Hurt Business stablemates in AEW.
MVP
On August 16th, 2024, MVP’s contract expired and he chose not to resign, thus ending his second tenure with WWE.
Returning as a surprise entrant in the 2020 Royal Rumble before being quickly eliminated by Brock Lesnar, MVP would continue to be a part of the company for 4 more years as a manager and as an active performer, most notably as a part of The Hurt Business faction that saw Bobby Lashley become World Championship.
Taking to Instagram to reflect on his 4-year run with the promotion, the former United States Champion noted that a one-off in the Royal Rumble was all he wanted so that his son could see him compete. Instead, things snowballed, resulting in the star becoming a prominent onscreen wrestler and manager during the pandemic era:
I came back so my baby boy could see “Daddy” in a WWE ring. “The Royal Rumble.” That’s all I wanted. A one off. I was ready to retire. Then, I received an offer to become a producer. The pandemic hit. I became a producer AND a commentator for Main Event. Next, they asked me to put the boots on and help out with TV during the “PC Era”. One episode of RAW, “MVP” was in NINE segments! Heyman agreed to put me and Roberto together. I signed a full time talent contract.And then we made history.
What a ride!!!!
Ricochet
On July 1st, Ricochet left WWE when his contract expired. In the weeks leading up to his departure, it was reported he had told management about his desire to leave and was written off TV after a brutal attack by Bron Breakker on an episode of Raw, which saw Ricochet leave the arena in the back of an ambulance accompanied by fiancee and Raw ring announcer Samantha Irivin.
Ricochet signed with WWE in 2018, where he won the North American, United States and Intercontinental Championships. Following his departure he signed with AEW.
On November 1st, former King of the Ring Baron Corbin recently dropped a cryptic tweet hinting that his time with WWE had come to an end. The news was confirmed shortly after that his contract is set to expire and will not be renewed by the promotion.
Corbin signed with the company in 2012 and has since then been an essential part of it. He was last seen on the August 30th episode of SmackDown in a match against Los Garza (Angel & Berto). One of the top stars on the roster, Corbin has won the United States Championship, NXT Tag Team Champions with Bron Breakker, Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, and the Money in the Bank briefcase. He is also a one-time King of the Ring winner.
Jinder Mahal
Jinder Mahal was the biggest most surprising name to be included on the list of released talent.
Best known for his 170-day run as WWE Champion, Mahal’s career has had multiple chapters in WWE. After debuting in 2011 he found success in NXT and reached the finals of the tournament to crown the first NXT Champion. Alongside Heath Slater and Drew McIntyre, he started the faction known as 3MB.
He was released in 2014 and returned to the independent scene before making a successful comeback in 2016. Boasting a shredded physique and a new attitude this led to his biggest success of his career when he shockingly defeated Randy Orton for the WWE Championship at Backlash 2017.
His next taste of success came at WrestleMania 34 when he won the United States Championship. Following a period in the lower mid-card, he began managing the Indian duo Inhu Sher, who were also released on April 19th.
After the news broke took to social media to announce his departure, posting “I Quit. Maharaja Out” and changing his bio to indicate he’s a free agent.
Dijak
On June 27th, Dijak announced that he would be leaving WWE imminently as his last day under contract would be June 28th. According to the star, WWE never negotiated with him as his contract expiry approached.
Following on from a successful run in NXT, Dijak was one of many call-ups in the 2024 Draft and was announced to be a part of the Raw brand. However, even though the Draft took place in late April, the NXT call-up never competed on Raw as his only matches following the call-up were losses to Pete Dunne and Xavier Woods on Main Event and Speed respectively.
Indi Hartwell
The former NXT Women’s Champion Indi Hartwell was released from her contract on November 1st. The Australian star was signed to WWE in 2019 and joined NXT where she found success as a member of The Way and had a fun storyline marriage to Dexter Lumis.
Tegan Nox
Tegan Nox was released for the second time on November 1st. Nox has not appeared on TV since April when she teamed with Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark to take on Damage CTRL. She has been wrestling on a few live shows and Dark matches the last being in July against Blair Davenport.
Indus Sher – Veer and Sanga
Indus Sher’s Veer and Sanga were among the names released by WWE on April 19th.
The duo debuted in 2018 on NXT, managed by Malcolm Bivens/Stokely Hathaway, but failed to have the desired impact. After runs as singles competitors on the main roster, they reunited with Jinder Mahal as their manager.
Xia Li
Xia Li made history when she became the first Chinese woman to compete in a WWE ring during the inaugural Mae Young Classic in 2017. She also competed in the tournament the following year before becoming a regular on NXT.
In the 2021 WWE Draft, she moved to SmackDown but competed mainly in Dark matches. In 2023, she was drafted to Raw where she received a brief push facing Becky Lynch in a losing effort before appearing on Main Event.
She was released from her contract on April 19th, 2024.
Xyon Quinn
Quinn first appeared on NXT in 2108 under his real name Daniel Vidot. He was repackaged as Xyon Quin and debuted in the revamped NXT 2.0.
In 2023 he was called to the main roster and competed in a battle royal for the Intercontinental Championship contendership but was eliminated. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as well on the main roster. He lost his only match in 2024 to Bron Breakker in a very short squash match on SmackDown.
He was released from his contract on April 19th, 2024.
Von Wagner
The Second-generation wrestler joined NXT in 2019 but only appeared on live shows and dark matches under his real name Cal Bloom. He was repackaged as Von Wagner in 2021 and debuted on the revamped NXT 2.0. His first televised match was a fatal four-way for the NXT Championship. Yet despite his big start, his career never really took off. He had a brief feud with Kyle O’Reilly before aligning with Mr. Stone and feuding with Bron Breakker.
He was released on April 22nd, 2024.
Cameron Grimes
Cameron Grimes confirmed his release on April 23rd, 2024.
Grimes signed for the company in 2019 and debuted in that year’s NXT Breakout Tournament. Although he did;t win the contest he went on to have a successful run on the brand. His over-the-top personality made him a hit with the fans and his entertaining feud with LA Knight saw him become the last wrestler to hold the Million Dollar Championship.
He also captured the NXT North American Championship before moving to SmackDown in the 2023 WWE Draft. Unfortunately, his stint on SmackDown wasn’t great and he was on the wrong end of several squash matches.
Gable Steveson
Gable Steveson was signed in 2021 and seen as a major prospect due to his collegiate wrestling success and 2020 Olympic gold medal. But his time in WWE was ultimately unsuccessful.
He appeared on WWE television briefly, such as at WrestleMania 38 and Kurt Angle’s birthday celebration before competing in his debut match against Baron Corbin at NXT Great American Bash. The match was poorly received and Steveson was booed heavily throughout.
His future was then cast into doubt when he was removed from the NXT roster. He returned briefly before being released on May 3rd, 2024.
Damon Kemp
Damon Kemp has announced that he is no longer a part of the company.
Taking to social media to announce his departure on July 8th, Kemp issued a short statement to confirm his status:
As of today I am no longer under contract with WWE. Forever grateful for the people I met and the experiences I’ve had.
A regular competitor on NXT, Kemp last competed on the June 25th episode of NXT and lost to Tavion Heights in under 3 minutes. Kemp, real name Bobby Steveson, is the brother of Olympic Gold Medalist Gable Steveson, who was released from his WWE contract earlier in the year.
Jerry Lawler
WWE has not renewed Jerry Lawler’s broadcast contract with the company.
The long-running contract, which began in 1992, expired in early 2024 but was not renewed. It was later confirmed that the delay in the news being made public was due to Lawler suffering a stroke in February 2023.
The Hall of Famer who is well-known in wrestling history for his work as a wrestler in Memphis and his announcing on WWE TV throughout multiple decades. In September 2012, Lawler had a legitimate heart attack during an episode of Raw and had to be resuscitated. Some within the company were surprised that he was let go, given that the near-death experience took place on WWE programming. According to sources, Lawler would have always been looked after under the previous ownership, but this is now “a new era” where the company is owned by Endeavor.
Drew Gulak
The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion was released on May 3rd 2024 along with several other NXT names. Gulak had been removed from television in the lead-up to his departure following an accusation by Ronda Rousey about inappropriate touching. Gulak denied the accusation and claimed it was an accident.
Drew Gulak joined WWE in 2016 after competing in the Cruiserweight Classic tournament. He became a focal part of the Cruiserweight division and 205 Live and captured the title in 2018.
The other NXT Stars released were:
- Boa
- Darrell Mason
- Vlad Pavlenko
- Ezekiel Balogun
- Kiyah Saint
- Emma Diaz
- Valentina Feroz
- Keyshawn Leflore
- Trey Bearhill
- Julian Baldi
Odyssey Jones
Odyssey Jones is gone from WWE.
On September 2nd, Odyssey Jones mysteriously disappeared from WWE’s roster page with no explanation. The move came as a surprise to fans as Jones recently debuted on Monday Night Raw 462 days after being drafted to the red brand as part of the 2023 Draft. and had been involved in a storyline with Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston. It was later revealed that Jones had been taken off Monday Night Raw following allegations of domestic violence.